My right honourable friend the Secretary of State Defence (Bob Ainsworth) has made the following Written Ministerial Statement.

UK forces in Afghanistan form part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and contribute to the efforts of the international community to assist the Government of Afghanistan to expand security and build the rule of law.

The Taliban insurgents are ruthless and indiscriminate in their attempts to kill and maim our troops and the Afghan people.

In his Statement on 26 February 2009 (Official Report, col. 394) on the detention and transfer of persons captured by UK forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, my right honourable friend the then Secretary of State for Defence set out the value of detention operations to our campaign in Afghanistan. Detention operations by UK forces are conducted in accordance with, and the holding of detainees in UK facilities meets the standards required by, the relevant provisions of international law.

In the light of the evolving threat to our forces, we have continued to keep our approach to these operations under review. Under NATO guidelines individuals detained by ISAF are either transferred to the Afghan authorities within 96 hours for further action through the Afghan judicial process or released. And in the majority of cases, the UK forces will operate in this manner. However, in exceptional circumstances, detaining individuals beyond 96 hours can yield vital intelligence that would help protect our forces and the local population—potentially saving lives, particularly when detainees are suspected of holding information on the placement of improvised explosive devices.

Given the ongoing threat faced by our forces and the local Afghan population, this information is critical, and in some cases 96 hours will not be long enough to gain that information from the detainee. Indeed, many insurgents are aware of the 96 hours policy and simply say nothing for that entire period. In these circumstances, the Government have concluded that Ministers should be able to authorise detention beyond 96 hours, in British detention facilities to which the ICRC has access. Each case will be thoroughly scrutinised against the relevant legal and policy considerations; we will do this only where it is legal to do so and when it is necessary to support the operation and protect our troops.

Following a Ministerial decision to authorise extended detention, each case will be thoroughly and regularly monitored by in-theatre military commanders and civilian advisers. Individuals will not remain in UK detention if there is no further intelligence to be gained. We will then either release the detainee or transfer the detainee to the Afghan authorities. We have a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Government of Afghanistan, requiring that individuals detained by UK forces and transferred to the Afghan authorities are treated properly. Following transfer, we continue to work with the Afghans in support of their judicial processes, maintaining close links and monitoring the application of the MoU, including through regular visits by Royal Military Police and British embassy staff to transferred detainees. The ICRC also has access to the Afghan system.

We ask our Armed Forces to operate in highly dangerous environments. In Afghanistan the capacity of the local agencies to enforce security and the rule of law is growing by the day, but it is vital that our forces have the authority and the capability to deal effectively with the serious threat to troops and those they are there to protect. I recognise the sensitivity of detention operations, but they are fundamental to the success of our military operations in Afghanistan, as has been proven in other operational areas.

UK forces in Afghanistan operate, and will continue to operate, in accordance with international law and with the highest standards of conduct that we rightly expect of them.